Fran Wilde's Blog, page 36
June 25, 2012
Breaking Plot
For the past two weeks, while you were in the formidable hands of A.C.,Bernie, and the authors of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology, I was high in the mountains of New Mexico, disassembling my stories and trying to build them back stronger and better than before.
the plot of the next novel – cool, huh?
One magic moment at Taos Toolbox was when four of us sat up late one night and broke apart the plot of my novel, then reconstructed it on index cards taped to the closet door of my room.
We added...
June 22, 2012
Bug Stew: Part 3
Thus we come to the third, and final part of our interview with the authors of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology. You can find Part 1 here, and Part 2 here. I want to thank all our participating authors for playing along with our odd questions, and, of course, a huge thank you to our most gracious host, Fran Wilde. I hope you all had as much fun with this Cooking the Books interview as I did!
Have you ever eaten an insect on purpose?
DK Mok: No, although I’ve read some interesting studies abou...
June 20, 2012
Bug Stew: Part 2
We are pleased to present part two of our three-part interview with the wonderful authors of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology. Part one may be found here.
Many cooks don’t enjoying eating a meal they’ve prepared; they’re more interested in the process than the product. How do you feel about reading your stories once they’ve been published?
DK Mok: My favourite parts of the creative process are the concept development, and seeing the finished work going out into the world. It’s the bit in betw...
June 18, 2012
Bug Stew: Part 1
We, your humble guest-bloggers, are very pleased to present a group interview with several of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology’s authors. Not only were these fine wordsmiths foolish kind enough to let us publish their stories in the first place, they’ve extended the kindness by providing insight into the inspiration behind those stories, and indulging our odd questions about cooking and bugs. I urge you to read their Journal of Unlikely Entomology tales, and seek out their work in general....
June 10, 2012
How to Brew a Bugzine
In which two intrepid editors ramble on about creating an unlikely journal of bug-themed fiction and art.
I suppose we should start by introducing ourselves. It seems like the polite thing to do, since Fran was kind enough to let us to infest her blog. We are Bernie Mojzes and A.C. Wise, co-editors of the Journal of Unlikely Entomology, an online magazine of fiction and art about bugs. We publish two full issues per year, with an unspecified number of themed, mini issues scattered in-between....
May 30, 2012
Exciting announcement: Junebugs
Leaf insect Photo by Sandilya Theuerkauf, Wynaad, 2006
After careful thought…
No, wait.
After realizing that I wouldn’t be able to update this blog for much of June, followed closely by panic…
That’s not right either.
Because they’re amazing and I want you to meet them…
That’ll do.
I’m pleased to announce that June is bug month. Authors and journal editorsA.C. Wise and Bernie Mojzes will be bringing by some entertaining tidbits, including Cooking the Books entries and recipes sponsored by the...
May 20, 2012
Rarefied Atmosphere
This weekend’s adventure included a roadtrip withSiobhan and Beth down to DC for the Nebula Awards, and Talking To People. I’m thrilled beyond measure that Jo Walton’s Among Others took honors for best novel, though at least three others on the novel list rank high on my favorites for this year. The field of short stories, novellas, and novelettes was so amazing I don’t know how they picked the winners. Plus, there was an astronaut!
This wasn’t technically my first con, though it sure felt lik...
May 12, 2012
Proofreading
Dear readers,
A discussion over lunch the other day made me wonder how you do it – the proofreading part of your job, or your writing, or whatever it is that you proofread.
I proofed for an engineer during college, after learning how to proofread backwards for my high-school literary mag (thank you, Mrs. K!). I still proof backwards (which is an acquired taste, admittedly), as well as reading aloud. For my first full-time job, I was as a night proofreader for a government services firm outside...
April 13, 2012
Your Newly Enhanced Experience
What is it about social media that requires constant redesigns of the interface? Is it a desire to stay ‘fresh’?
Or is it the need to feel like you are once again the new kid on the block, when, in actuality, you are getting a little creaky and the new apps are breathing down your neck and offering to walk you across the street?
Hey, Google, Facebook, Twitter… once again, you’re giving us design changes we do not want and have not requested.
Google+ redesigned itself yesterday into a minimalist-...
The Submission Cycle: Schrodinger’s Story
Maybe you have one of these. Something you’ve sent out to the great beyond, and it’s been out there for a while.
Maybe it’s not even a story. Maybe it’s a résumé. Or a request for information. Or a sculpture for a show.
Whatever it is, it’s out there, and you’ve noticed it hasn’t been batted back to you as quickly as those things sometimes are. In fact, it’s well past the time when you were told to expect a response. This happened to me about a month ago.
With stories (and résumés), it’s not alw...
